West Cork village's 'Fright Night' to stage zombie outbreak for Halloween
Martha O'Leary examines a body at a live zombie outbreak experience in Goleen, West Cork. Picture: Anne Marie Cronin Photography
Locals in a West Cork village are being warned to exercise caution this Halloween amid a suspected zombie virus outbreak.
The local community centre in Goleen has been turned into a survivor zone as protective measures are put in place for the community’s annual Fright Night. The move follows the spread of a virus known as “rabid 19” which is slowly turning locals into the walking dead.
Lukas Ungerer is the man behind the live experience which will see a large-scale replica of the village created for visitors to enjoy on Friday.
Real-life zombies will be let loose to roam the streets, leaving murdered medics and dead first responders in their wake.
A number of protesters are also planning to take to the streets in opposition of the so-called “rabid 19” measures.
A team of artists have been working around the clock to make the simulation possible, including Lukas and his wife Joanne Ungerer, Angelique Muller, Laury Mason and Orla Lavelle.
Participants will enter through a mock-up of Dermot Sheehan’s food store and make their way onto the road into the midst of a street protest turned zombie outbreak where murdered medics and first responders complete with military civilians as well as live and infected survivors.
Live actors, mainly teenagers from the Foróige youth group, will make up a lot of the crowd. There is a recreation of Goleen’s main street with all the various cafes and shopfronts. There will also be street lighting, fire effects and smoke to create an atmosphere.
"There are usually a few multimedia effects thrown in there so that would give you an idea of the set itself. The best feedback we get is from people who recognise places captured in the set, including those who own the businesses that feature," said Lukas.
"It usually takes years and years to get the word out about something like this but, thankfully this event has gone from strength to strength and is growing all the time.”
Lukas said the protesters were introduced to add a tongue-in-cheek element to the event.
“We like a bit of low-level controversy,” he joked. “Some of the Foróige kids have already made up protest placards and they are hilarious. They are going to be really tongue-in-cheek.
'Mainstream media is fake' and 'real news come from Facebook' are just some of the messages on the signs.
"I think it’s about time all these conspiracy theorists and anti-maskers had it come back at them,” said Lukas.
The project was completed entirely by locals of West Cork and without a budget.
“The props we all make ourselves. Everything you see has been recycled. This is completely grassroots.
"Of course, because the experience is done without a budget we can’t make it as realistic as we like but we’ve created the local businesses with the same fonts and colour schemes so it’s as close to the real thing as possible."
"The real test will be the reactions from teenagers because they are probably the most cynical age group.”
All funds raised will go towards the local Goleen district and community council.
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